Voices from the Stars
The citizens of the Stellar Habitat have offered much wisdom over the centuries, here is but a fraction of that knowledge: 1. Seven selected pieces taken from 1001 Lessons Learned Through Blood by''' Hyboar''' Consider this; a foundation requires a cornerstone if a building is to stand. Without a strong foundation, a building will crumble by even the slightest breeze. Though its walls may be mighty, its towers awe inspiring and its gates impenetrable, all is for naught if the cornerstone is weak. Base your structure, whatever it may be, on a firm cornerstone, and even the deepest gravity well cannot bring it down. Lesson 3: Community is the cornerstone of mankind''. – 1001 Lessons Learned Through Blood, Hyboar'' As time passes, a blade dulls. It loses its cutting potential. What it needs is a whetstone, something to keep it sharp. If left for too long a dull blade will rust and be thrown out. A new, sharper blade will take its place and no one will ever remember that the old blade even existed. Lesson 6: Conflict is the whetstone of mankind. – 1001 Lessons Learned Through Blood, Hyboar When the cobra strikes, it does not nibble. When the attack comes, it is a blur of teeth and venom. One moment there is stillness and silence, the next is a flurry of movement. All is over before the prey knows the attack even started. The prey has no time to mount a defense, no chance to stop the inevitable. The cobra is victorious. Lesson 17: In the right situation, mankind must be like the cobra, attacking swiftly and dealing the killing blow before the enemy even knows what is happening.'' – 1001 Lessons Learned Through Blood, Hyboar'' The Chameleon Frog of Ulaan is an amazing creature. It is not rigid in its ways; it is capable of adapting to a variety of conditions. When the temperature drops below freezing, it will solidify. When the sun boils it will enter a state of deep sleep. When the landscape changes from green to purple, it will adjust its camouflage. When a predator attacks, it will shed a body part. No situation will catch it off guard because it is always willing to change to its environment, often in never before seen ways. Lesson 37: Mankind must be like the Chameleon Frog, ceaselessly willing to adapt. – 1001 Lessons Learned Through Blood, Hyboar The Bone Tree of Bolama grows high above the surrounding landscape. It does not toil with beautiful flowers, or immense multi-coloured leaves. It does not waste time attracting insects, or sending a pleasant smell into the breeze. It denies all of these things and strives instead to do one single thing: grow taller than the rest. The Bone Tree is focused, immense and frightening, dominating all of the beauty around it. Lesson 83: In all aspects of life, if mankind can maintain focus like the Bone Tree, there is nothing that we cannot do. – 1001 Lessons Learned Through Blood, Hyboar An iceberg is serene and cool above the water, but below it is immense and intimidating. Lesson 106: Like an iceberg, keep one façade on the surface, and another on the inside. Let your true emotions stir, accept them, understand them, control them, then use them to crush your foe.'' – 1001 Lessons Learned Through Blood, Hyboar'' Unlike any other creature on Kigali, the Ormslo shows compassion to fellow creatures. Where others will kill or maim for pleasure, a Ormslo will wait patiently for all other predators to disappear then will help an injured animal –regardless whether it is a predator or not. Is it any wonder then that the Ormslo have the longest lifespans? That they are the healthiest creatures of their world? It is as if their empathy is being rewarded. Lesson 244: Be not like most aliens, who so often show only cruelty. Instead, be like the Ormslo, rise above the tempting path of hatred and take the higher path of mercy.– 1001 Lessons Learned Through Blood, Hyboar 2. A continued collection of various works: Be ever mindful of your thoughts, for they rise and fall like the tides, they bubble and churn like the sea, they change direction like torrents in a river. Knowing how your thoughts flow not only allows you to control your present, it allows you to prepare for your future. –''The Wisdom of Nature ,Leon Sigma'' The peace that a unified humanity brings allows us to pursue so many things that make us human. Free from fear and constant battle, we can study philosophy and religion, medicine and physics, history and biology, with no limits to the potential of our education… War does sometimes infect our border-lands, with alien brigands acting like a troublesome boil, but the vast majority of our citizens live a life of peace and prosperity only dreamt of in ages past. –''Ahmed Sana, to the UH Senate upon the official ending of the 1'st' surge.'' Constant awareness. Always waiting for the enemy. When will it come? I care not, I am prepared. –''Whispers of Battle, Various '' We are opposed to pre-natal genetic modification for many reasons….first and foremost we want each human to have a connection to all other humans before, throughout all ages, one mankind, unchanged and linked by genes. However, after birth, there are a number of enhancements… - Who We Are (The Story of a Valiant Species), Alin Paul I eat, sleep, work, and live at no cost, all because I am a citizen of the Union; these things are not a privilege, but a right. No citizen goes without. You may think that this is too good to be true, so do I… Consider the fact that, depending on status or rank, there are many medical enhancements that the vast majority of us can never receive…the Settlement Agency can uproot our families at a moment’s notice…we can be ‘assigned’ (I prefer ‘banished’) either to a paradise world, or to a barely breathable wasteland, never knowing which until we arrive…the list goes on…a noble veneer to our way of life, but underneath, the individual really has no control…- – Arguments Against Popular Opinion, Vol.1 I fight because I see my brother and my sister in the face of every victim of alien aggression. I give my life so that my family may live. –''Memoirs of Our Glorious Defense Forces, compiled by Zander Koth'' Each new world is a precious gem added to the crown of humanity – unknown I am so weary, each moment is a blur of light and dark, is that moving figures or the passing of days? I have no way to tell, for I am locked in battle. – A Lament of Many Wars, Jon Regal Woman, Man, Syn, there is no distinction…each can wield a weapon in the defense of humanity, each can utter words of defiance with a righteous fury, each can inspire hearts and souls, each can lead entire armies… – ''From the Lips of a Lioness, Lane Millward ''